Petej2811's review of Rodney Cundle - www.rodneycundle.co.uk

I was new to the whole traveling tailor concept. I had bought off the rack as long as I had been wearing suits and while I had gone about as upmarket as I was prepared to for a ready to wear suit, I couldn't get one to fit me as I wanted. I looked for some tailors online, the prices seemed keen and so I decided to go and have a suit made. I looked for a few tailors and eventually settled on Rodney Cundle Tailoring in Leeds.

When I spoke to Rod he was charming and pleasant and he agreed to come and see me at home. I was measured up for my first suit, chose the cloth and the process began. I was a little weary as I was sure he didn't take enough measurements for it to be bespoke, but I thought he's a professional, he knows what he's doing, I needn't worry. I asked for a plain navy suit in thick cloth for work. I wanted it reasonably closer fitting than my other suits, I wanted three piece with an extra pair of trousers, horn buttons, working cuffs. Nothing difficult. I paid my deposit and I waited.

I went for my first fitting to his shop, I wanted to see it for myself. It is not a wood panelled gentleman's club, rather it is a workshop. The first fitting was fine, I spent some time with him and, if I'm honest, he took me in a little. The trousers were a bit baggy, I mentioned this, he agreed. For the second fitting, the trouser seat crept up the crack of my backside. I asked for this to be sorted. The trousers went off and came back.

For the third fitting the trousers seemed better, I was told they would stretch with time and not to worry. Quite why I even considered that was logical is beyond me. I wore the suit a while and it felt comfortable, my colleagues admired it, but I'm not sure they know much other than I'm a sucker for a kind word. Being very busy and not noticing this too much at the time I ordered another. The other came and the same problems existed. The trouser cut was simply poor, the seat rides into my backside, the sleeves were not finished straight and there was an expanse of loose cloth inside the left sleeve. The waistcoat was cut too tightly, Rod told me this was fine and it was only my insistence that needing to breathe in was not supposed to be the case to close the buttons that made him reconsider. When it came back it was far too loose. The third time the buttons are sewn too close together so the cloth rides and ripples. My issues with the suits are these -

The trousers on both are absolutely awful. The look nice at the front but the legs are cut like a ship's sail, baggy and far too much cloth. The seats are not cut to the shap of my backside and while they ride up the crack of my backside, the sides droop from excess cloth. Rod's trouser maker is, in my opinion, absolutely diabolically terrible at making trousers. These are the forst finished trousers I have ever bought in my life.

The jackets on both, while apparently well structured, are terrible finished. There are stray loose thread ends everywhere - Rod does not appear to me to be a man who concerns himself with the details. Further, I got plastic buttons on all suits in spite of having asked for horn, twice for each suit. Rod likes his lapels to be a bit thin, I didn't ask for that and was surprised, they can't be changed. Both jackets are very boxy, they clearly aren't cut based on my measurements, in my opinion they are an approximation based on the altering of another pre-existing block. What Rod told me was bespoke, in my opinion, does not bear the hallmarks of it. I have a dropped shoulder, the jackets don't cater for this. The jacket skirt on both is too short, the shoulders on both are too wide, they go past my natural shoulder and droop because of it. The cloth in the crotch and pleats of the trousers is far too generous. In tweo of the trousers a seam does not appear to join the cloth in the seat - It is just loose in the trouser - I have never seen trousers that do this before or since. I am not convinced they are finished properly. The trouser leg hems on my second suit are so loose I can get my feet into them.

The problem list is huge and I have given Rod at least two opportunities on the trousers per suit, three opportunities on the waistcoat, one on the second suit jacket - I wonder how many times I am supposed to let this man loose before he either gets it right or I can conclude that he hasn't made a suit to fit me?

I have tried to contact him to remedy the issues now that I have raised them all - I have asked him to put the numerous faults right and to offer a partial refund. Though he was quick to get back to me when he thought there was money at the end of the email, he has been slow to respond now he knows the extent of the problems - when I say slow, he hasn't responded.

When I was looking for a tailor, I saw a distinct lack of reviews and commentary as to how people had got on. I submit this here because if I had read something like this, I would have thought twice before taking on Rod's services. I had a nice experience as he charmed me, but a trully terrible product. He charged £830 per suit.

I would urge anyone reading this to think long and hard about who they choose to make a suit for them. I would never ever again allow Rodney Cundle to make for me.

Value For Money

Petej2811's Response to Petej2811's Review

Written on: 25/07/2013

As an update, I mentioned these issues to Rod and am trying to get them sorted. He has referred the matter to his solicitors. Is this the conduct of a man who cares about his customers and doing a good job for them? I leave you to make up your own minds on that.